Markets Close | Markets Pause After 3-Day Rally; IT, Metal Stocks Drag Benchmarks
- 5th February 2026
- 05:00 PM
- 2 min read
Indian equities ended lower on Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak, as global weakness in IT and metal stocks triggered profit booking. Moderation in optimism around the US–India trade deal also weighed on sentiment, while broader markets underperformed the benchmarks.
The BSE Sensex fell 0.6% to close at 83,313.93, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 0.52% to end at 25,642.8.
Broader markets saw sharper cuts, with the Nifty Smallcap index sliding 1.3% and the Nifty Midcap index down 0.3%.
Sectoral Indices
The Nifty IT index fell 0.6%, extending Wednesday’s sharp 6% decline, as concerns over artificial intelligence-led disruption resurfaced following developments around Anthropic’s new AI tools.
Metal stocks also came under pressure as global commodity prices weakened. The Nifty Metal index slipped 1%, tracking lower prices of precious and base metals amid a stronger US dollar. Hindalco, Vedanta and Hindustan Zinc fell between 3% and 5%, emerging as key laggards.
Defence, Capital market indices were top losers in today’s trade.
Nifty Gainers and Losers
Among Nifty 50 constituents, Trent, Max Healthcare, Tata Steel, ONGC and Jio Financial Services emerged as the top gainers. On the downside, Hindalco, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, ITC and SBI Life Insurance were the top losers.
Stock-Specific Action
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd shares fell sharply after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock, citing programme-related uncertainty, which weighed on investor sentiment.
Hexaware Technologies tumbled 10% following the release of its Q3 FY26 earnings, as the results failed to meet market expectations.
Devyani International surged as much as 9.73% to an intraday high of ₹135.25 after reporting its earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, with investors reacting positively to the performance.
Force Motors hit a 52-week high after the company reported a 252% jump in net profit for the December quarter, triggering strong buying interest in the stock.
Cues Ahead
For tomorrow market participants will now turn their focus to the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision on Friday, where the central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged.
The Indian rupee strengthened 0.1% to close at 90.3550 against the US dollar.
For all market related updates follow PL Capital.
